Reports on double-deck elevators vertically connected to each other in one shaft have hitherto been made, and usually group control is performed in the case where a plurality of double-deck elevators are installed side by side. In usual double-deck elevators, for example, an escalator is installed nearby, whereby in departure floors (for example, the first floor and the second floor), passengers are guided in appropriately selecting either the upper car or the lower car according to destination floors; for example, passengers who want to go to odd-numbered floors board the lower car from the first floor and passengers who want to go to even-numbered floors go to the second floor using the escalator and board the upper car from the second floor.
On the other hand, on ordinary floors, there is adopted a method which involves selecting one elevator according to car calls and assigning the elevator instead of guiding passengers in appropriately selecting either the upper or the lower car.
In general, for a double-deck elevator, the following three kinds of operation methods are provided and the operation methods are switched according to the traffic volume:
(1) Double method: The upper car serves only even-numbered floors and the lower car serves only the odd-number floors. Carried out at peak times.
(2) Single method: The upper car is closed, and all floors are served by the lower car alone. Carried out at off-peak times.
(3) Semi-double method: This method is the same as the double method on departure floors. After a response to a from-hall car call, both the upper car and the lower car serve arbitrary floors. Carried out in normal times.
In an elevator group controller which controls the operation of a plurality of cars of a conventional double-deck elevator system, there are provided a first operation mode (the double method) in which the upper car responds to from-hall car calls from even-numbered floors to even-numbered floors and the lower car responds to from-hall car calls from odd-numbered floors to odd-numbered floors and a second operation mode (the single method) in which from-hall car calls from even-numbered floors to odd-numbered floors or from odd-numbered floors to even-numbered floors are responded to, and on the basis of the information on from-hall car calls classified according to the even-numbered floors and odd-numbered floors which are registered by from-hall car call registration devices provided separately for even-numbered destination floors and odd-numbered destination floors, such as Go up to even-numbered floors and Go up to odd-numbered floors, installed in a hall, a decision is made as to which of the cars of the first operation mode or cars of the second operation mode should be assigned cars (for example, Patent Literature 1).